On April 9, 2026, the Nebraska Counsel for Discipline recommended a temporary suspension of Omaha divorce attorney W. Gregory Lake after his appellate brief in Prososki v. Regan contained 57 defective citations out of 63, including 20 AI-generated hallucinations and four entirely fabricated cases, according to WOWT. For Nebraska divorce litigants, this disciplinary action establishes that courts will sanction attorneys who file AI-generated briefs without verification, regardless of whether the lawyer admits using the technology.
Key Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| What happened | Counsel for Discipline recommended temporary suspension of attorney W. Gregory Lake |
| When | April 9, 2026 (recommendation); response due within 7 days |
| Where | Nebraska Supreme Court, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Case | Prososki v. Regan (divorce appeal) |
| Defective citations | 57 of 63 (90.5%), including 20 AI hallucinations and 4 fabricated cases |
| Key rule | Nebraska Rules of Professional Conduct § 3-503.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal) |
| Impact | First major Nebraska disciplinary action tied to AI-generated legal citations |
Why This Matters Legally
This disciplinary recommendation changes how Nebraska courts will evaluate attorney briefs going forward. The Counsel for Discipline concluded that Lake's explanation — that he accidentally filed a 'wrong draft' — was not credible given that 90.5% of the brief's citations (57 of 63) were defective, with four cases that did not exist anywhere in any legal database. Whether or not Lake personally used ChatGPT, Claude, or another generative AI tool, the filing violated the attorney's duty of candor under Nebraska Rule of Professional Conduct § 3-503.3, which requires every lawyer to verify that citations to legal authority are accurate before submitting them to a court.
Nebraska now joins at least 15 other states that have sanctioned lawyers for AI hallucinations since the Mata v. Avianca case in June 2023, where two New York attorneys were fined $5,000 for submitting six fictitious cases generated by ChatGPT. The Nebraska action is notable because it arose in a divorce appeal — a high-stakes family law context where appellate briefs frequently shape custody, property division, and alimony outcomes for years afterward.
How Nebraska Law Handles This
Nebraska imposes strict verification duties on practicing attorneys. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 7-104, attorneys admitted to the Nebraska bar must uphold the integrity of the judicial process, and the Nebraska Supreme Court retains exclusive authority over attorney discipline through the Counsel for Discipline. The applicable professional conduct rules are codified at Nebraska Rule of Professional Conduct § 3-501.1 (Competence), which requires lawyers to possess 'the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation,' and § 3-503.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal), which prohibits knowingly making false statements of fact or law to a tribunal.
Sanctions available to the Nebraska Supreme Court range from private reprimand to disbarment. Temporary suspensions in Nebraska typically run 30 days to 2 years, during which the attorney cannot practice law, accept new clients, or appear in court. Lake has one week from April 9, 2026 to file a written response before the Nebraska Supreme Court issues its final ruling, which will be binding statewide.
For divorce clients specifically, Nebraska follows Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-365 for equitable division of marital property and Neb. Rev. Stat. § 42-364 for custody determinations. Appellate briefs in these cases must cite accurate precedent because Nebraska appellate courts review property-division rulings for abuse of discretion — meaning a brief filled with fake citations offers the client no meaningful appellate protection.
Practical Takeaways
If you are involved in a Nebraska divorce or family law matter, this case offers concrete guidance:
- Ask your attorney directly whether AI tools are used in drafting your pleadings or briefs, and whether every citation is independently verified against Westlaw, Lexis, or the official Nebraska Reports.
- Request a copy of any appellate brief filed on your behalf at least 48 hours before submission so you can spot-check citations using Google Scholar or the free Nebraska Judicial Branch opinion database.
- If you suspect your attorney filed defective work, you can submit a grievance to the Nebraska Counsel for Discipline at 3808 Normal Blvd., Lincoln, NE 68506, or call (402) 471-1040.
- For ongoing divorce cases where the brief was already filed, ask about filing a motion to withdraw and resubmit — Nebraska appellate courts have discretion to allow corrected filings when errors are disclosed promptly.
- When hiring a Nebraska divorce attorney, ask about their AI policy, citation verification workflow, and malpractice insurance coverage, which should exceed $500,000 for family law appellate work.
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This article discusses recent news and provides general legal commentary. It does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. Consult a qualified family law attorney for advice specific to your situation.